Plug for electric irons and the like



Nov. 26, 1940. 1 o. 0. RlTZ-WOLLER 2,222,880

PLUG FOR ELECTRIC IRONS AND THE LIKE Original Fi1 ed Nov. 29, 1957 @lli i,r r

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MAKERS & BREAKERS,

UNITED STATES Search Room PATENT OFFICE PLUG FOR ELECTRIC IRONS AND THE LIKE Oliver 0. Ritz-Woller, Chicago, 111.

Original application November 29, 1937, Serial No. 176,991, now Patent No. 2,163,704, dated June 27, 1939. Divided and this application September 19, 1938, Serial No. 230,534

7 Claims.

The application is a division of my application Serial No. 176,991, filed November 29, 1937, now Patent No. 2,163,704, dated June 27, 1939.

My invention relates to electric irons and stands therefor and particularly to the type or stand provided with means for feeding current to the iron thereon for heating the iron, and it has for its object the provision of a new and improved form and arrangement of this type by reason of which the sparking when the iron is placed in position on the stand or is removed from the stand may be kept to a minimum as the circuit is alternately made and broken. It is another object of my invention to provide an improved arrangement of parts by reason of which the danger of anyones receiving an electric shock clue to accidental contact with the terminal contact members of the stand is reduced to a minimum. For accomplishing this purpose and for otherwise improving the construction, it is one of the objects of my invention to provide an improved arrangement of closed chamber means within which the sparking is caused to take place so as to smother the spark and 8.150 to protect the hands of the operator.

A stand of this type has been provided heretofore, equipped with a fixture plug permanently mounted in position at one end of the stand and having pins or other suitable contact members extending backwardly from its rear face for connection with the usual appliance plug of an electric cord and having its front portion provided with contact members in position to be engaged by the backwardly extending contact members of the iron in normal position on the stand. It is one of the objects of my invention to provide an improved form and arrangement of connections between the backwardly projecting contact members and the contact members at the front portion of such a fixture plug.

It has been one of the objects of my invention to provide an improved arrangement in a plug of this type in which both of the contact members of the plug are adapted to yield backwardly, one of said contact members being arranged to yield to the necessary extent for completing the circuit and the other contact member at the opposite side of the plug being "arranged to yield through a considerably greater distance to compensate for-the yielding of said first mentioned contact member. It is one of the objects of my invention to provide an improved arrangement of the contact members of the plug together with an improved arrangement of the contact members of the iron whereby I am assured that the initial contact engagement when the iron is put on the stand, and the final contact break when the iron is taken off the stand, shall always occur at the same side of the plug-namely, at that side at which the circuit is not broken within the plug.

It is another object of my invention to provide an improved arrangement of yielding contact means through which the circuit is kept complete at all times and in which the spring tending to hold the contact parts in extended position with respect to each other is protected by insulation against the possibility of the current passing therethrough.

It is another object of my invention to improve arrangements of this type in sundry details hereinafter pointed out. The preferred means by which I have accomplished my several objects are illustrated in the drawing and are hereinafter specifically described. That which I believe to be new and desire to cover by Letters Patent is set forth in the claims.

In the drawing- Fig. 1 is a side face view of a stand and an iron thereon equipped with my improved arrangement;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged detail view of the rear portion of the iron and stand, with certain of the parts broken away and shown in section for clearness of illustration;

Fig. 3 is a horizontal sectional view taken substantially at line 3-3 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a horizontal sectional view taken on an enlarged scale at the line 4-4 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 5 is a vertical sectional view taken sub stantially at line 55 of Fig. 4; and- Fig. 6 is a side view of the contact member and spring arm device by which permanent connection is effected through the plug at one side thereof.

Referring now to the several figures of the drawing, in which corresponding parts are indicated by the same reference characters, l indicates an electric iron of a type to be supported upon a stand Ii which is positioned normally in slightly inclined position with respect to the table or other level surface upon which it is resting. As is best shown in Figs. 2 and 3, the iron I0 is provided at one end with contact members It and I3 in substantially vertical position thereon, from which extend auxiliary contact members l4 and 15 in substantially horizontal position. The contacts I2 and iii are arranged so as to receive thereon the ordinary appliance plug of an electric cord for heating the iron. An alternative method of heating the iron is carried out through the use of the contact members It and I as hereinafter described. In the arrange ment shown, my improved iron is provided with a housing 15 formed of sheet metal and open at its rear face, a pivotally mounted hood member I! being provided adapted to close alternatively either the upper portion of the housing 15 as shown in Figs. 1 and 2 or the lower part of the housing opposite the ends of the contacts I4 and I5.

At the rear end of the stand I I, I have provided a bracket l8 rising from the stand and supporting at its upper end a plug member l9, such plug member in the arrangement shown comprising two body portions 20 and 2| formed of insulation material of any approved type. The body members 20 and 2| are hollowed out at their inner faces to provide two chambers 22 and 23, which are column-shaped and in the illustrated embodiment of my invention are cylindrical, extending therethrough at the opposite sides of the plug. At the rear face of the plug, I have provided contact members 24 and 25 which are mounted rigidly in position at their forward ends in the plug, with shank portions in the form of pins extending backwardly in parallel relation to each other so as to receive thereon the appliance plug 26 of an electric cord 21.

Within the chamber 22 of the plug I9, I have mounted a movable contact member 28 in the form of a pin opposite the contact member 25, such pin 28 having mounted thereon a heavy sleeve'29 of insulating material serving as a sliding support for the pin. A coiled spring 3|] is interposed between the insulation sleeve 29 and the contact member 25 for holding them normally in spaced relation to each other. At their adjacent ends, the contact member 25 and the pin 28 are provided with intermediate contact heads 3| and 32, such heads in the arrangement shown being formed of silver in the form of plugs having a pressed fit in oppositely disposed openings in such parts 25 and 28. The arrangement is such that the circuit through the plug l9 from the contact member 25 is normally broken between the intermediate contact heads 3| and 32 but such that when pressure is applied backwardly upon the contact member 28 against the action of the spring 30 such pin 28 moves backwardly for completing the circuit through the plug.

Within the chamber 23 of the plug I9, I have provided a contact member 33 in the form of a cylinder open at its rear end toward the inner end of the contact member 24. Within the cylinder 33, I have provided a block 34 of insulating material forming a seat for a coiled spring 35 which bears at its opposite end against a portion of the contact member 24, serving thus normally to hold the cylinder 33 at the limit of its forward motion. Upon the rear end of the contact member 24, I have mounted a plurality of resilient arms 36 which have sliding engagement within the open end of the cylinder 33 so as to provide permanent electrical connection between the contact member 24 and the contact member 33 while at the same time permitting free and easy movement of the contact member 33 backwardly in the chamber with respect to said contact member 24.

As will be readily appreciated, by reason of the fact that the springs 30 and 35 are seated against blocks of insulating material at their forward ends the electric current passing through the plug I9 is kept away from said springs, being caused to pass at all times through the arms 36 in the one chamber and through the intermediate contact heads 3| and 32 in the other chamber without any danger of said springs becoming heated by the passage of current therethrough.

As will be readily understood, the arrangement of the parts within the chamber 22 as above described is such as to provide a make and break connection through the plug at that side, while the parts at the opposite side of the plug serve as a permanent yielding connection. The arrangement is such that when the contact member 28 is moved backwardly through a short distance the circuit is closed and continued backward movement of the contact 28 thereafter is prevented. The contact member 33 on the other hand is adapted to have backward movement through a considerable distance without affecting the electrical connections at that side of the plug.

As is clearly shown in Fig. 3, the arrangement is such that when the iron is presented evenly to the plug IQ of the stand the contact member I4 is brought into engagement with the contact member 33 appreciably in advance of the engagement of the contact member l5 of the iron with the movable contact member 28 of the plug at the opposite side of the iron and stand. When the contact member M of the iron is brought into engagement with the movable contact member 33 of the plug, no spark is produced since the circuit through the plug at the opposite side is still open. No spark is produced either when the contact member I5 is brought into engagement with the movable contact member 28. Upon continued backward movement of the iron, however, the circuit is closed within the chamber 22 and all of the sparking brought about by the closing of the circuit takes place within such chamber. Upon the removal of the iron from the stand, all sparking which occurs again takes place within the chamber 22 since the spring 30 serves to open .the circuit between the intermediate contact members 3| and 32 before the contact member l5 of the iron is moved out of engagement with the movable contact member 28. By reason of the fact that the intermediate contact members 3| and 32 are formed of silver and of the fact that the chamber 22 is effectively closed, so as to smother a spark therein, the sparking is kept to a minimum and the parts are protected against pitting or other damage by reason of such sparkmg.

By the provision of my improved contact member comprising the shank 24 and the resilient arms 36, and the association of such contact member unit with the cylindrical contact member 33 within which the resilient arms have sliding engagement, I am assured that a permanent yielding connection is at all times effective between the members 24 and 33 so as efiectively to prevent sparking within such chamber. By this improved arrangement, a connecting means of variable length is provided of such arrangement as to cooperate with the make and break connecting means in the chamber 22, these results being attained without the use of complicated mechanism likely to get out of order even in long continued use.

While I prefer to employ the form and arrangement of parts as shown in my drawing and as above described, it is to be understood that my invention is not limited to the arrangement shown except so far as it may be so limited by the claims, it being understood that changes might a.

well be made in the form and arrangement of parts without departing from my invention.

I claim:

1. In a plug, the combination of a body having two column-shaped chambers extending therethrough in spaced relation to each other side by side, contact members in the form of posts rigidly mounted in said chambers at one face of the plug and extending therefrom at opposite sides of the plug for ready connection with the appliance plug of an electric supply line, other contact members in said chambers and movable longitudinally in the chambers toward and from LUV] l-l-L-V l lllvll l- UlllUUll MAKERS 61. BREAKERS,

said first named contact members, yielding means adapted normally to hold said second named contact members moved to the limit of their motion away from said first named contact members, means providing permanent electrical connection between the contact members at one side of the plug, and means providing a make and break connection between the contact members at the other side of the plug.

2. In a plug, the combination of a body having two column-shaped chambers extending therethrough in spaced relation to each other side by side, contact members in the form of posts rigidly mounted in said chambers at one face of the plug and extending therefrom at opposite sides of the plug for ready connection with the appliance plug of an electric supply line, other contact members in said chambers and movable longitudinally in the chambers toward and from said first named contact members, yielding means adapted normally to hold said second named contact members moved to the limit of their motion away from said first named contact members, means providing permanent electrical connection between the contact members at one side of the plug, and intermediate contact heads carried by the contact members at the other side of the plug held normally by said yielding means out of engagement with each other and in such position as to close the circuit through the plug when said second named contact members are moved toward said first named contact members.

3. In a plug, the combination of a body having two column-shaped chambers extending therethrough in spaced relation to each other side by side, contact members in the form of posts rigidly mounted in said chambers at one face of the plug and extending therefrom at opposite sides of the plug for ready connection with the appliance plug of an electric supply line, other contact members in said chambers and movable longitudinally in the chambers toward and from said first named contact members, yielding means adapted normally to hold said second named contact members moved to the limit of their motion away from said first named contact members, means providing permanent electrical connection between the contact members at one side of the'plug, and intermediate contact heads formed of silver and having a pressed fit in the contact members at the other side of the plug held normally by said yielding means out of engagement with each other and in such position as to close the circuit through the plug when said second named contact members are moved toward said first named contact members.

4. In a plug, the combination of a body having two column-shaped chambers extending therethrough in spaced relation to each other side by side, contact members in the form of posts rigidly mounted in said chambers at one face of the plug and extending therefrom at opposite sides of the plug for ready connection with the appliance plug of an electric supply line, other contact members in said chambers and movable 1ongitudinally in the chambers toward and from said first named contact members, spacing means in said chambers between said contact members comprising springs by which the contact members are normally moved in opposite directions and blocks of insulating material by which current is prevented from passing through the springs, means providing permanent electrical connection between the contact members at one side of the plug, and means providing a make and break connection between the contact members at the other side of the plug.

5. In a plug, the combination of a body having two chambers extending therethrough in spaced relation to each other side by side, contact members rigidly mounted in said chambers at one face of the plug and extending therefrom at opposite sides of the plug, a contact member in the form of a headed pin in one of said chambers, a heavy sleeve of insulating material on said pin serving as a sliding support for said pin in said chamber, a second slidably mounted contact member in the other of said chambers, springs in said chambers for spacing said first named contact members yieldingly from said slidably mounted contact members, means providing a make and break connection between the contact members in one chamber, and means providing a permanent electrical connection between the contact members in said other chamber.

6. In a plug, the combination of a body having two column-shaped chambers extending therethrough in spaced relation to each other side by side, contact members in the form of posts rigidly mounted in said chambers at one face of the plug and extending therefrom at opposite sides of the plug for ready connection with the appliance plug of an electric supply line, other contact members in said chambers and movable longitudinally in the chambers toward and from said first named contact members, yielding means adapted normally to hold said second named contact members moved to the limit of their motion away from said first named contact members, means for providing a make and break connection between the contact members at one side of the plug, and a plurality of resilient arms carried by one of the contact members at the opposite side of the plug having sliding engagement with the other contact member at that side of the Plug.

7. In a plug, the combination of a body having two chambers extending therethrough in spaced relation to each other side by side, contact members rigidly mounted in said chambers at one face of the plug and extending therefrom at opposite sides of the plug, a contact member in the form of a cylinder closed at one end and slidably mounted in one of said chambers with its opposite end open toward the first mentioned contact member in said chamber, a plurality of resilient arms carried by said first named contact member'and pressing outwardly against the inner face of said cylinder so as to provide permanent electrical connection between the contact members in said chamber, a second slidably mounted contact member in the other of said chambers, springs in said chambers for spacing said first named contact members yieldingly from said slidably mounted contact members, and means for providing a make and break connection between the contact members in said other chamber.

OLIVER C. RITZ-WOLIER. 

